This post will offer some guidance to help you respond to the following Spellbinder Instagram prompt, and will be especially useful for fiction writers.
Write a fiction piece about a magical but otherwise ordinary looking object. How is it magical? How did it become that way? Who will find out about its secret powers? Will they use it for their personal gain or for the common good?
Suggestions for Fiction Writers
Start by brainstorming some magical objects you know from books and television. This will provide some sources of inspiration for the following activity.
Then make a list of different types of secret power e.g. portal; shapeshifting…
After that, write a list of objects and assign them to one of these secret powers.
Now work out the logistical elements. If your watch is a magical weapon of some kind, how does it perform its function? How do you operate it?
Recommended reading:
Harry Potter – J.K. Rowling
The Lord of the Rings – J.R.R. Tolkien
The Chronicles of Narnia – C.S. Lewis
His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman
Discworld series – Terry Pratchett
After you have had the chance to write some fiction based on your magical objects, consider how your writing might be adapted for the screen. It is very common for fantasy series to be made into films, as you will be able to see with the examples from the recommended reading list above. Think about how your writing would work in script form. Also consider whether you would like your work to be used in this way or whether you think that it should remain as a piece of text, read by the eyes rather than by actors and actresses. Would you find it upsetting if a director took your plot in a completely different direction or would you appreciate the film as a piece of independent art?
We would love to hear about your magical objects. Comment below!
Amber Kennedy, Editor-in-chief
Photo by Mikhail Nilov from Pexels